Join Kmuse & Clkytta as they continue their jump into Filipino cinema and review the Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Barnedo classic film Barcelona: A Love Untold.
TRAILER:
SYNOPSIS:
Ely and Mia find each other on their individual journeys in finding redemption. After the unfortunate passing of Ely’s girlfriend, Ely moves to Barcelona, Spain to fulfill her wishes, when he meets a girl who reminds him of her. He tries to ignore the thought of her, but fate would always bring them together. Both struggle at first: but as they get to know each other, things begin to feel lighter. Soon, Mia finds herself falling for Ely, who is not yet done loving someone else. With a strong voice of today’s youth, this romantic-drama movie shows two people who are faced with the truth about themselves and about the past so that they can have a future together. (MyDramaList)
THE PLOT
Kmuse: Wow. This movie is a train ride of a romance. I will admit a secret, I HATE doppelganger tropes. There is something that I find so icky about a person falling in love with a copy of their first love. This trope has unhealthy baggage written all over it. That said, this was one of the more sincere and sweet doppelganger story arcs that I have watched. The slow burn and working through issues of our two leads made the romance seem more sincere. By the end, they had convinced me that Eli was not just replacing his dead fiancee with a look-a-like.
Clkytta: This was a super sweet story and it doesn’t just tug at your heartstrings, it yanks them. It’s not all about lost love, it’s about failures, moving on, and learning who you really are.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Kmuse: With the Spanish city being the actual title of the movie, I wish we had really delved deeper into the beautiful surroundings. Unlike other dramas/movies that have filmed in exotic locations, I never really got a strong sense of the city itself. In my opinion, this was a missed opportunity for some great moments.
Clkytta: While I see Kmuse’s point, I think the movie is about how much these two are struggling to make it. They don’t have time to see the beauty because they are in survival mode. We see some of the sights but only for a second as they go from job to job.
CHARACTER OBSERVATIONS
Kmuse: Barcelona is also different from many of this OTP’s other shows in that it doesn’t utilize an extensive cast to move along the story. We mainly focus on our leads with extended family only showing up in flashbacks and quick phone conversations. I am not sure if I prefer this style of storytelling but it did give me plenty of time to fall in love with our leads.
Clkytta: The phones weren’t main characters? The phone plays a big part in this show, it really highlights how we are so reliant on immediate communication. We don’t really connect with any characters besides our OTP.
OVERALL REACTION
Kmuse: While this might have not been the fluffy rom-com that I have come to expect from these two actors, I did really enjoy the story. Daniel and Kathryn did an amazing job of emoting pain and despair. Kathryn especially had me tearing up during several scenes and did an amazing job. If you want a bittersweet movie with a happy ending then I highly recommend Barcelona. I give it an 7.5/10 which would have been higher if the doppelganger trope was not involved.
Clkytta: This was not my favorite drama of theirs. I actually forgot that I had already watched it months ago. I was thirty minutes into it and texting Kmuse that I’ve already seen this one. It’s a very emotional movie, but it also dragged a little too much for me. It felt a little like we just went from crisis to crisis and I got a little burnt out. I’ll give it a 7/10.
Til our next movie adventure,
The Fangirls
Dramas with a Side of Kimchi